Intergenerational connections interim report

3rd January 2019

Chuka Umunna MP is to give a keynote speech on the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Social Integration’s interim report on intergenerational connection at Inside Government’s prestigious social cohesion conference on Thursday 24 January.

Chuka Umunna, who chairs the APPG, will give a special
keynote speech at the conference setting
out the current state of the UK’s generational divide, and how a range
of policy areas, including community programmes, public services, housing and
technology, can help to bridge the gap.

The report will be the first published as part of the APPG’s
ongoing inquiry into intergenerational connection, which began in December 2017.
It will draw on written evidence from 30
different individuals and organisations working to bring generations closer
together, as well as evidence gathered during community visits in London,
Manchester and the West Midlands, and four parliamentary hearings.

The generational
divide

The APPG was first inspired to explore intergenerational
connection following the stark political divides between different age groups
exposed during the 2016 EU referendum and 2017 General Election. In the EU
referendum around three-quarters of young people voted Remain and two-thirds of
older people voted Leave, whilst the Ipsos Social Research Institute said the
2017 General Election resulted in the biggest political division between age
groups they have ever measured.

But throughout the course of the inquiry, the APPG has found
the generational divide to extend far beyond politics. Different age groups are
increasingly living parallel lives in different parts of the country, not
spending meaningful time with one another on a regular basis, and unable to
form the bonds of trust and understanding that characterise an integrated
society. Younger people tend to live in urban city or town centres and older
people in more rural areas: between 1991 and 2014, the median age of people
living in rural areas rose nearly twice as quickly as the median age in urban
areas. And even when younger and older people live in the same city they tend
to reside in different neighbourhoods. In the UK’s 25 biggest cities, only 5%
of people who live in the same neighbourhood as someone under the age of 18 are
over 65, down from 15% in 1991.

A decline in shared spaces such as libraries and community
centres has also made it harder to bring generations together across these
geographical divides.

What can be
done?

As well as shedding further light on the nature of the
generational divide, the APPG’s interim report will set out some general
principles for local and central government to strengthen the ties between
different age groups, and explore four main policy areas that can help achieve
this:

Intergenerational
communities: the role of local, grassroots initiatives which unite
generations through shared interests such as art, music, politics and
conversation, what they can do to be more effective, and how local and central
government can help them thrive.

Intergenerational
public services: how intergenerational connection can be embedded
throughout care and education, on public transport, and via schemes to help
older people stay active in their communities.

Intergenerational
housing and planning: how existing housing can be used to improve
intergenerational connection, and how new housing, as well as whole towns and
cities, can be designed for all ages.

Technology
and intergenerational connection: the role of technology as both a source
of disconnection and loneliness among different age groups, and as a potential
tool for strengthening intergenerational connections.

Book your place at
the conference now

Inside Government’s conference on ‘Improving Social Cohesion and Integration across Local Communities’
is taking place in central London on Thursday 24 January between 8.45am –
4.30pm.

It will provide an opportunity to reflect on the
Government’s Integrated Communities
Strategy and how it aims to enhance social cohesion in local communities. As well as Chuka Umunna’s keynote speech, the
forum will feature leading speakers from the Ministry of Housing, Communities
and Local Government (MHCLG), Local Government Association (LGA), Cohesion and
Integration Network and a number of local councils.

To secure your place as soon as possible register now. Tickets cost between £325-£595, but
we’re offering an exclusive 10% discount for those in the public and voluntary
sector. To claim your discount, please contact
Deborah Makinde on 0203 770 6648 or email
[email protected] and quote ‘COHESION2019’.

We look forward to seeing you there, and to hearing from you
in the second phase of the APPG’s inquiry. To find out more about the APPG and stay up-to-date
with all its latest news, visit socialintegrationappg.org.uk and sign-up for
its e-newsletter.

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